Last year the storm came in on race day - this year it held off for a day, and a dozen female skippers had a pleasant sail on the Estuary in Saturday’s Sadie Hawkins Race, hosted by Island Yacht Club. An easterly had the race committee contemplating a course that would be sort of backwards of typical Estuary racing, then the wind died and, during the five-minute postponement of the starting sequence, it clocked around to the typical westerly direction, so that it would be coming from Jack London Square. The race committee quickly sent the two divisions off in that direction.

The first half of the fleet made it around the double-sausage course in less than two hours - and then the wind shut down for the second half. Some drifted slowly forwards, and even practiced their big boat roll-tacking, but some reported that they spent some time drifting backwards. Eventually, all finished. Kristin Soebiter, sailing her first race in her just-acquired and yet-unnamed Cal 20, fretted that she was keeping everyone waiting, but - not to worry - she made it.

The race was followed by a chowder cook-off, which exhibited fiercer competition than the race itself.

For results of the regatta, see www.iyc.org/raceinfo.htm. Next up on the race schedule for Island YC is the Doublehanded Lightship on March 14.